Making You See
by blackrising
Summary: A new student comes to Middleton High, hoping to escape her fate. But can she really defy her own destiny? And what happens when Team Possible and Bonnie get involved in the whole thing? Bonnie/OC, Kigo and slight Rokken
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Kim Possible and all things related to it belong to Disney...sadly. However Melinda is an original character and therefore MINE.*grins*

Summary: A new student comes to Middleton High and causes some turmoil in both Kim's and Ron's life...as well as in Bonnie's. **[BonnieXOC and KiGo (and possibly Rokken)]**

A/N: I know I should work on my Avatar fanfiction instead of starting something new, but this nagging feeling just wouldn't go away, until I started writing this. I'm actually quite fond of Bonnie and have been feeling deeply sorry for her ever since I saw the episode „Bonding". Nobody deserves a family like that. XD

So, naturally, I started thinking about pairing her up with someone from the show and writing a fic about it. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone who was good enough for her. Xb (Well, nobody other than Kim. But I'm too much of a Kigo-supporter to even think of that.^^)

That's why I started developing an original character. And the result was a girl named Melinda, who is oblivious to the order of the world around her more often than not and is almost unnaturally good at taming animals. Of course, there are some mysteries about her that will be revealed as the story goes one, i.e why she's so good with animals or why she _always _wears her gloves.

And if I have the time I might upload a picture of her on Deviantart, together with her profile.

I _might_.

Also, Kigo won't be the main pairing in this fanfic. Yes, they will get a rather large part of the story, but they're still just the secondary pairing. (But don't worry, there will be plenty of delicious Kigoness.) And I'm not sure yet about the Rokken part. Maybe I won't do it at all, maybe they will be mentioned somewhere or maybe they will get one or two chapters. We'll see.

Oh, and I don't have a beta, so the mistakes are my own. I try to keep them at a minimum, but being from Germany can really suck when it comes to speaking and/or writing in another language. (Or maybe we're just a bunch of idiots here....)

If anyone's interested in acting as a beta for me, just send me a message.

And I just noticed that I'm talking/writing way too much....

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Chapter 1

Mel glanced at the slip of paper in her hand, trying to decipher the scrawl that was supposed to be telling her where she would find her first class of the day.

She scratched her head in obvious confusion, oblivious to the other students shooting her dirty looks, since she was standing in the middle of the hallway and therefore very much in the way.

Finally able to read the words on the paper, she grinned happily. Her smile, however, fell after about two seconds and was replaced by a distressed expression. While she knew now that her first class would be Latin, she still had no idea how to get there.

Shrugging, she grinned once more and practically started running down the hall. She would just ask a teacher or something.

The students who had watched the new girl looked after her and shook their heads. What a strange person.

Mel, still running, turned around the corner and promtly bumped into something rather hard, which sent her tumbling onto the floor.

„No running in the hall."

She looked up at the man hovering above her. His brown hair was trimmed short and his face held a grumpy expression. His height was average, but he seemed to be rather fit from what she could see.

„You look like a teddy bear." she declared with a cheerful smile and rose from the ground, not even checking if her jeans were dirty.

He stood there for a few seconds, looking at her blankly. Then, his eyes narrowed and he asked in a low, dangerous voice „Say, what class are you in?"

Mel, oblivious to the tension in the air as always, smiled even wider, dimples appearing in her cheeks.

„Well, I don't know yet. Can you tell me where to find the Latin class?"

Barkin was surprised to see the girl still smiling. He chalked it up to the fact that she was almost as tall as he was and therefore not as easily intimidated as other students.

Still kinda confused, he just pointed to a door a few feet away from them and watched as the girl hopped off into the classroom. Shrugging, he decided that he would rather stick to terrorizing Stoppable. That was way less confusing.

Entering the room, Mel looked around curiously. She had never been to a public school before, so this was all very exciting for her.

„You must be the new student, am I right?"

Mel whirled around quickly, which caused her long ponytail to lightly strike the person standing behind her in the face.

The older woman who had approached her – the teacher, apparently - sniffed slightly at the fact that she had just gotten a mouthful of coal-black hair.

Mel, having missed the disapproving look, nodded eagerly.

„Yes, my name is Melinda."

The teacher nodded and lead her to the front of the class. The bell rang, signaling that it was time to go to class and startling Mel, who wasn't used to the sound.

The class began to fill rapidly and soon, everyone was seated and quiet. Well, almost everyone. A blonde boy was munching rather loudly on a muffin.

The teacher shot the boy a dirty look before she started to speak: „Good morning, class. As you can see, we have a new student."

She motioned for her to step forward and introduce herself.

Mel smiled her trademark big smile and did as she was told.

„My name's Melinda, but you can call me Mel. Uh...my hobbies are playing basketball and painting an...uhm...my zodiac sign is Cancer. It's nice to meet you guys".

She waved happily and what came back was a more or less enthusiastic chorus of „Nice to meet you, too."

Seeing that Mel was finished talking, the teacher spoke up again.

„Now I need someone who can show our new student around."

Her eyes fell on the blonde boy who was now chewing on something that looked like a mix between a muffin and bubblegum.

„Mr. Stoppable, how about you?"

He looked up, obviously startled by the sudden attention, but he quickly pulled himself together.

„Sure thing!" he said and grinned.

The teacher nodded.

„Good."

She turned back to Mel, almost pitying her for having to spend more time than necessary with Ron Stoppable.

„Since Ms. Possible does not partake in this class due to a make-up test, you can sit in her seat for today."

She pointed to the seat next to the blonde boy.

Still smiling, Mel sat down next to Ron, waving at him.

He leaned over to her slightly and gave her a wide grin.

„Hi, I'm Ron."

He shook her gloved hand enthusiasticly.

„And this is my buddy Rufus."

Instantly, a naked mole rat appeared on his shoulder, squeaking something that sounded like „Nice to meet you."

Having seen weirder things in her life, Mel just grinned at the tiny animal and shook the little paw Rufus held out to her.

He even let her pet him for some time before he decided that her scarf looked very comfortable and quickly climbed into it to take a nap.

Ron watched the scene with some wonderment. He had never seen someone earn Rufus' trust that fast.

„You're very good with animals." he decided and his smile broadened.

Mel smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

„I don't know. Maybe he's just very trusting by nature."

Ron was about to say something else but quickly decided against it when he noticed the angry look the teacher directed at him.

And so the class passed with Rufus sleeping peacefully in the folds of her scarf and Mel deciding optimistically that she would surely make many friends here.

However, it was just a matter of time until she would realize how much power the infamous food-chain of highschool had over all of them.

To be continued.....

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A/N: Okay, it starts off kinda lame, doesn't it? That'll change, hopefully. I'm still trying to figure out Mel...she's just kinda doing what she wants. I can't even control my own OC's...it's sad, really.

Anyway...next time, Mel meets the rest of Team Possible. (God, that sounds so lame....meh, we'll get to the interesting parts soon enough.)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Not much to say, besides...new chapter! Oh, and I could use some reviews. :D

Even if it's just to tell me how stupid this story is...then at least, I'd know someone reads this crap. XD

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Chapter 2

After class, Mel and Ron stepped out of the classroom, while Rufus was still happily snoring in her scarf.

„I tell you, she hates me!" Ron lamented, gesticulating wildly with his hands.

They were strolling down the halls on their way to Math and Ron couldn't help but complain about their Math teacher.

„I totally thought the result of my last test would be a D. Instead I got an F...again."

Mel gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

„Don't worry. I'm sure you strong points lie elsewhere."

He grinned at her, not even noticing how much he had to look up to her and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

That is, until the natural noise of students talking and laughing was interrupted by an outraged shout.

Quickly seeking out the origin of the sound with their eyes, their gaze fell on a brunette girl in a cheerleader outfit who was reprimanding a boy stupid enough to step on her foot.

While Ron shook his head and sighed, feeling sympathetic for the boy, Mel watched the scene curiously.

„That's Bonnie. The less you have to do with her the better. I think she was born bitchy." he told her when he saw Mel's questioning glance.

She cocked her head to the side, contemplating what he said. She was just about to ask how someone could be _born_ bitchy when the bell rang again. Ron grabbed her arm and towed her along with him. He couldn't afford to be late to Math again or the teacher would surely give him detention on top of the extra homework Barkin would somehow manage to dump on him over the course of the day.

Mel, startled, shrieked rather loudly and drew the attention of the students around her, including the brown-haired girl's.

She found herself caught in the turquoise gaze, just before she was pulled around the corner by Ron, who was mumbling something under his breath along the lines of „...a funny look in 9th grade was all it took...".

**************************

(elsewhere)

"Report."

"It's gone, Sir."

The voice seemed shaky and fearful.

"What?" the other voice hissed.

"They have brought it to an unknown location. We have tried to get them to talk, but...they swallowed poison before we could ...properly question them."

"You should have stopped them." the voice was laced with anger.

"I know, Sir."

"Find it. Immediatly!"

"But...we don't even know what it looks like..."

"'. Find it or bear the consequences."

"Yes, Sir."

**************************

"Lunch! Finally!"

Mel grinned at Ron's enthusiastic behavior. English was finally over and she was hungry.

"So the food is good, then?" she asked, her stomach growling.

His shoulders slumped slightly.

"Not really."

She laughed at his crestfallen expression.

They walked through the doors to the cafeteria and quickly lined up in front of the food counter.

As they walked to a table, Mel stared at the food on her tray suspiciously. She had no idea what it was.

She looked up when Ron nudged her slightly.

"KP, this is Mel. She's new. Mel, this is Kim Possible."

He gestured towards a redhead in jeans and a green tanktop sitting at the table. Kim offered Mel her hand and smiled.

"Hi, nice to meet you."

Mel shook the girl's hand and grinned cheerfully.

Sitting down, she started digging in her food, so hungry that she didn't care what it was, as long as it was edible.

Her fork was halfway to her mouth, when two shouts reached her ear.

"DON'T EAT THAT!"

Startled, she looked up, mouth still open.

Kim and Ron both looked at her fork like it was the epitome of all evil.

"...Why?"

"It's meat loaf."

"Uh...and?"

Kim looked at her insistenly.

"_Never _eat meat loaf in the cafeteria."

She shuddered in disgust.

"The consequences are...not pretty."

Mel looked from her fork to Kim and back. Grinning, she shrugged and began to shovel the food into her mouth, obviously enjoying herself.

Kim and Ron looked at her like she had grown another head. Leaning over slightly Ron whispered to the cheerleader: "Do you think she didn't hear us?"

"I don't know."

Having finished, Mel patted her belly and sighed satisfied. It may not have been very tasty, but at least she wasn't hungry anymore.

The other two looked at her curiously, seemingly expecting her to do something like throwing up or mutating into a monster.

Noticing their looks, she smiled sheepishly.

"Don't worry, I have a strong stomach."

Kim and Ron looked at each other doubtful, then shrugged and started eating their own food.

Suddenly, a yawning Rufus emerged from the black and purple striped scarf. He rubbed his beady eyes and his nose twitched, obviously smelling the food.

After a cheerful shout of "Lunch!", the naked mole rat jumped on the table and buried his nose in Ron's pasta. Well, if you can call it that.

Mel was happily watching Rufus eat, when she heard a voice to her left.

"Kim, I like your shirt! I can't imagine how hard it must be for you to find shirts you...fill up."

She looked at the direction the voice had come from and came face to face, or rather face to hip, with the girl from before. She tilted her face up and saw that the brunette was looking rather pointedly at Kim's chest.

Glancing at the red-head, she noticed the sour look that crossed her face, before she answered in a light tone: "Well, Bonnie, not all of us have the time or the _need _to stuff our bra in the morning."

"My, I didn't think you even needed a bra, _Kimmie_."

"Well, _I _didn't know you could think, so we're even now, _BonBon._"

Mel watched the banter with equal measures of confusion and fascination, while Ron tried his best to be as invisible as possible. He knew better than to get between Kim and Bonnie when they were fighting.

Unfortunately, Mel was not given this piece of information beforehand.

"Are you two always fighting?"

The two girls looked at her like she had broken some unknown rule, which, in some way, she had.

Bonnie scrunched up her nose in disgust. New students....they never knew when it was best to shut up.

"Who's your new friend here, Kim? Always had a weakness for the poor and homeless, didn't you? Well, as long as you make sure she doesn't carry any...diseases."

Before Kim or Ron were able do say anything to defend their new friend, Mel extended her hand and smiled sweetly, either not noticing or not caring that she had just been insulted.

"My name's Mel."

Bonnie looked down at the hand like it was some revolting insect and actually stook a step back from the still happily smiling girl.

Realizing that her hand would not be accepted, Mel frowned for a second, before her face cleared up again and she enthusiasticly caught the brunette's hand in her own, shaking it vigorously.

"Nice to meet you." she declared happily, grinning up at the perplexed girl.

Bonnie wanted to say something, a cutting remark, but found herself out of things to say.

"Whatever." she hissed in the general direction of the table, before she left in a huff.

Kim and Ron watched the scene in amazement and broke out in laughter after Bonnie had left.

"Nice one, girl friend!" Ron exclaimed through his laughter, while Rufus was using the opportunity to shovel the rest of Ron's lunch into his mouth.

"Interesting way to shut her up." Kim said, grinning gleefully at the speechlessness of her rival.

Mel didn't know what they were laughing about, but laughed with them anyway.

After the noise had died down, Kim was just finishing her lunch when something started beeping.

Mel watched curiously as the red-head pulled a device from her pocket and started talking to it.

"She's talking with Wade. He probably has a mission for us." Ron explained.

Noticing that she was still looking confused, he elaborated: "Kim is a teen-hero. And I'm her sidekick!" He puffed out his chest in pride.

"Haven't you ever heard of her?"

Mel glanced at Kim, who was still talking to that weird device.

"No, but I've been living pretty secluded for most of my life, so that's no surprise."

"Really? Where are you from, anyway?"

Avoiding his gaze, she shrugged and smiled, waving it aside.

"It's a very small village...I doubt you'd recognize it."

Ron looked at her a second more, before he shrugged and decided to let it go. She'd tell them sooner or later.

"Ron, we have a mission."

Kim stood up and waited for Ron to do the same.

"Cool, it has been kinda quiet for the last few weeks, hasn't it?"

He rose from the table, taking Rufus and slipping him inside his trouser pocket.

Turning towards Mel, he smiled apologeticly.

"I'm sorry about taking off, even though I'm supposed to show you around."

He looked deep in thought for a moment, before he grinned brightly.

"How about you meet me and Kim at the Bueno Nacho after school? Then we can either talk about school _or _have fun."

She grinned and nodded her approval, before she watched the two of them walk out of the cafeteria.

Mel leaned back in her chair and scratched at her gloved hand lightly, deep in thought. From the corners of her eyes she caught sight of Bonnie walking out of the cafeteria, talking with another cheerleader.

Her hands started to ich harder, but ignored the itching, knowing that it wouldn't go away and prefering to watch the brunette till she was out of sight.

to be continued.....

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A/N: Next time: Kim's mission (and finally some Kigoness...not much...yet, but we'll get there. XD)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yay! Be prepared for delicious Kigoness! (Not as much as one might like, but enough for now XD) Also, there is some Rokken in this chapter. Not much, but it is there. In fact, it's more than what will appear in future chapters.

I didn't plan on uploading a new chapter this soon, since I wanted to plan the story a little bit before I continue writing. However, I realized that planning is no good for me...XD Epic fail...I can't seem to think when it comes to that sort of thing. Anyway, at least I know now what I want to do (kinda) and the rest will (hopefully) come to me while I'm working on the other chapters.^^;

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Chapter 3

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Snyder."

Kim and Ron were sitting in the back of a truck, driving on a bumpy road through the Australian outback to their destination.

"No problem, Ms. Possible." said the heavily accented voice. "It's the least I can do after you saved my sheep herd from the dingoes last summer."

"No big. It's really easy when you get the knack of avoiding their bites."

She waved it aside and smiled lightly.

"Hey, KP, where are we heading, anyway?" Ron asked, directing his questioning glance to the red-head.

"Someone has broken into a research facility here in the outback. The news have reported something about a groundbreaking discovery there a few weeks back."

She shook her head and sighed.

"I wonder if they will ever understand that their discoveries are safer when they don't tell the whole world about it."

Rufus squeaked his approval.

"Ms. Possible! I'm glad that you're here."

Kim and Ron were greeted in front of the large building by a middle-aged man with brown hair in a lab coat.

He lead them through the building and they stared with interest at the various machines and devices, which were being worked on by more people in lab coats.

Even though they had seen things like this a million times, it still held some fascination for them.

Stopping in front of a door, or rather what was left of it, Kim inspected the hinges. It seemed like the door had been...melted. There was nothing left of it.

"Was anything stolen?" she asked the scientist.

He nodded.

"Yes. It was the newest prototype of a polygraph. 100 % accurate." he said and puffed out his chest, proud of their discovery.

She looked thoughtful for a moment, wondering why someone would steal a lie detector, when a lous crash pulled her out of her musings.

Instantly, the red-head was on alert and slid into her fighting stance, eyes fixed on the hole in the ceiling.

A hovercraft appeared and Kim caught sight of Dr. Drakken, laughing like the maniac he was.

She felt the thrill of anticipation run through her. If Drakken was here, then Shego couldn't be far.

Her expectation was confirmed when she heard a soft "Hello, pumpkin." behind her, just before she had to duck to avoid getting hit by a plasma-charged fist.

Swirling around, she delivered a kick to the women's midsection, which she gracefully blocked.

Her foot now caught in Shego's grasp, the red-head dodged a few punches, waiting for the right time to strike.

Seeing a hole in the green-skinned female's defense, Kim's fist connected with her jaw, which sent Shego tumbling to the floor.

Rising from the ground, they both started circling each other, grinning in delight. They loved fighting each other. The thrill, the anticipation...not having to hold back. This was the reason why Kim still loved crime-fighting and why Shego hadn't left Drakken by now.

"So, Princess...did you miss me?" Shego drawled, smirk plastered firmly on her face.

As usual, the red-head just rolled her eyes.

"Suuure...about as much as someone misses school at weekends."

The glint in her eyes belied her words.

After another thirty seconds of circling the other, Kim thought she saw a weakness and quickly rushed forward, arm pulled back and ready to deliver a punch.

She quickly found out, however, that it had been a trap. The moss-hued female had known Kim would attack her at the first sign of weakness, so she had faked the hole in her defense to bait the red-head.

Now Kim's back was pressed against a wall, her arms captured above her head by Shego's hands.

The green-skinned female used her own body to hold Kim where she was, namely caught between the wall and herself with no chance of freeing herself.

Kim, who wasn't used to being pressed against someone _that _intimately, blushed, her face nearly the same colour as her hair.

Shego smirked as she noticed the other girl's blush, but chose not to comment on it. She'd save that for a time when she wasn't distracted by the object of her desire wriggling underneath her.

At times, she thought it was almost sad that the red-head didn't know that her double entendres were more than just a way to annoy her.

The moss-hued female wasn't given much time to enjoy the delicious feeling of Kim writhing beneath her however, since Drakken chose that moment to scream something in her direction.

"Shego!"

She rolled her eyes, annoyed at being interrupted during her "Kimmie-time" and stepped back from the red-head, not noticing the almost disappointed look in Kim's eyes.

She turned to face Drakken, still watching Kim from the corner of her eyes in case she should try something funny.

"What is it?"

She saw that Drakken was lying on the floor, the blonde sidekick practically sitting in his lap to keep him from escaping. This gave her a mental image she definitely didn't want to think about _ever _again.

Apparently the red-head didn't like the image either, because Shego heard her making a quiet gagging noise.

"Tell that buffoon that I didn't steal that poly-whateverhestalkingabout yet!"

The moss-hued female frowned slightly. She looked at Kim questioningly. The teen surprised her by explaining that the prototype of a lie detector has been stolen without accusing her of the crime.

"And you don't think that we stole it?" she asked, disbelieve in her voice.

Kim shrugged and smiled almost sheepishly.

"You don't seem like someone who would be stupid enough to return to a place they've already stolen from."

Shego wondered if the red-head knew that she had just given her a compliment.

The teen pointed to the hinges of the door.

"Besides," she continued. "while you _can _mealt steal, your plasma doesn't leave these black marks like fire does."

Grinning, the green-skinned female nodded in approval.

"You're so smart, Kimmie."

Even though her voice was laced with sarcasm, she had been absolutely honest.

Of course, Kim didn't know that and therefore took the comment as an insult. She fell into her fighting stance once again, glaring at her opponent.

"Considering that you intended to steal it, I guess I will have to turn you in anyway."

Shego just grinned when she saw the teen's glare. It made the red-head look extremly cute.

"As much as I would love to stay and kick your butt..." She sighed theatrically and looked at her blue-skinned employer who was still trying to get the blonde off him. "Since there's nothing left to steal, I'm out of here."

With that she took off running, grabbing Drakken on her way and dumping him unceremoniously in the hovercraft.

Steering the vehicle back through the hole in the roof, she grinned and blew Kim a kiss before disappearing into the sky.

While Kim was still staring at the hole in the roof with an unreadable expression on her face, Ron struggled to his feet.

Dusting himself off, he mumbled under his breath: "Damn, that guy's actually really well-built..."

Kim and Rufus, who was sitting on the blonde boy's shoulder, looked at him like he had just confessed his undying love for DNAmy.

Noticing their stares, he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"What? It's true!" he practically screamed, trying to get his point across.

Kim shook her head. She _so _did not want to discuss Ron's preferences right now. She had other things to worry about.

"Whatever...let's just head back." she said out loud before mumbling: "...before I have to puke..."

"Hey! I heard that!"

To be continued....

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A/N: It's just sooo easy to make fun of Ron and Drakken. XD Anyway, so in future chapters there will be a bit of Rokken. A few comments and/or compromising positions, no more, no less. (Probably less....)

In the next chapter, there will be more boring school life. Sorry, it has to be. Xb After all, how else should Mel get to know Bonnie?*grins*


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Not much Kigo in this chapter...but more of Bonnie/Mel XD Slowly but surely, I'm growing really fond of Melinda....^^

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Chapter 4

Mel approached the Bueno Nacho with a - for her rather untypical - thoughtful expression on her face.  
Her hands still hadn't stopped itching. While she could guess what the itching meant, she had no clue as to why it wouldn't stop this time. If her mentor was here, he would surely know the answer. But he was gone, Mel reminded herself. And it was rather unlikely he would come back.

She sighed, thinking of the kind, old man.

Stopping in front of the doors to the Bueno Nacho, she shook her head. It would do her no good to brood about things she couldn't change. Besides, the whole purpose of sending her to this small town was to give her a chance at a normal life...well, as normal as possible considering the circumstances.

Walking through the doors, she instantly spotted Kim and Ron sitting at a table at the window, chatting amicably.

When Ron caught sight of her, he waved her over exitedly.

Grinning, Mel slid into the seat beside him and lightly patted Rufus' paw, who had looked up from his meal long enough to greet her enthusiasticly.

"So, how was the mission?" she asked, genuinely interested. She cocked her head to the side slightly when they both seemed awfully interested in their meals all of sudden. Or, in Ron's case, even more so than usual.

After a few seconds, Kim shrugged her shoulders and smiled slightly.

"As usual. Someone broke into some research facility and stole something extremly important, so they wanted us to get it back."

"And?"

The red-head sighed.

"We don't know who did it. I already asked Wade to find out all he can, but he hasn't found anything yet."

"So, there was no fighting at all?" Mel asked, munching on some nachos Rufus had graciously offered her.

"There was. Shortly after we arrived there, Dr. Drakken burst through a hole in the roof." Seeing the raven-haired girl's questioning look, Kim elaborated: "Blue-skinned, mad scientist. Bent on taking over the world, but pretty incompetent when it comes down to it."

Ron, gulping down the rest of his nachos, continued: "And don't forget Shego. She's Drakken's sidekick...his very green-skinned, very _plasma-wielding_ sidekick. But still no challenge for Team Possible, right KP?"

He grinned at the red-head, who had started staring into space at the mention of Shego's name.

"Uh, KP?"

Kim finally snapped out of it after Ron had waved his hand in front of her face for a few seconds.

"Uh, what? Oh yeah, sure."

Ron and Mel exchanged a glance, before they both shrugged and decided to change the topic.

"So, do you want to join any clubs or teams at school? Tommorrow are the try-outs for most of the sport teams, you know." Ron told her through a mouth-full of another portion of nachos.

"Kim is the head cheerleader and I'm the mascot of our football team."

He puffed out his chest in pride.

"Well, what teams are there? I've never been to a public school before."

"Well, there's the football team, the basketball team, the judo team, the hockey team..." Kim said, counting them on her fingers. "...in fact, there are too many to count."

Ron nodded eagerly.

"Definitely too many. Trust me, because I tried out for all of them."

Mel grinned exitedly at the prospect of being able to play basketball in a real team.

"I'd like to try out for the basketball team."

The red-head nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure you height gives you an advantage. However, all try-outs are overseen by Mr. Barkin and he's rather...strict. Maybe he won't even allow you to participate in the try-outs, since you're female. He seems to have some issues with women playing sports and I've never seen a girl on one of our sport teams."

Mel looked confused for a second. She didn't know what difference it would make whether someone was male or female.

"Who's Mr. Barkin?" she asked, intending to ask him personally if he refused to let her take part in the try-outs.

"Big guy with short, brown hair and a rather bad temper." Ron answered, while Rufus nodded and squeaked: "Scary!"

Remembering the man she had run into on her first day at school, Mel grinned brightly.

"I've already met him. He was very kind." she said, not noticing the strange looks they were giving her.

"I think he looks like a big teddy bear." she continued, her grin broadening.

Kim and Ron looked at each other, as if to confirm they weren't in some weird alternative universe.

"You...didn't tell him that, did you?" Kim asked hesitantly, dreading the answer.

Mel blinked a few times before answering: "I did. Why?"

There was dead silence for a few moments, before Ron and Kim broke out into roaring laughter.

***************************

The next day, Mel met up with them at her locker after school. Since Kim and Ron had cheerleading/mascot practice anyway, they had decided to cheer Mel on while they were at it.

Arriving at the gym, they spotted Mr. Barking bellowing out orders on one side of the hall and Bonnie ordering the cheerleaders around on the other one.

"Oh, boy..." Kim mumbled under her breath before taking off to remind the brunette girl once again that she was in no position to give out orders.

Mel watched the brunette as she argued with the red-head for a few moments before she approached Barkin, while Ron was already wearing his mask and practiced his drooling.

Tipping Barkin on the shoulder, she waved and smiled at him.

"Hi." she said cheerfully.

His eyes narrowed dangerously and everyone on their side of the hall watched intently, wondering what would happen next.

"You." the man growled. "What are you doing here?"

Mel grinned, happy that he seemed to remember her and pointed at her basketball shirt and shorts.

"Trying out for the basketball team."

Barkin was silent for a few moments and everyone held their breath, waiting for the explosion. Well, except for Mel, who was still smiling brightly.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked in a dangerous tone. "Who knows what might happen? Basketball is a dangerous sport....broken bones will be the least of your worries."

Barkin was sure the girl would back down. There was nobody in this school he couldn't intimidate, especially no girl.

However, Mel continued smiling, oblivious to his threats.

"Yep, I'm sure."

The muscle under Barkin's right eyes started to twitch and he took a step back from her, grinding his teeth.

"Fine." he spat out and threw the basketball in his hands at her as hard as he could. "But I won't be surprised when you run home, crying for your mommy."

She caught the ball easily in her gloved hands, smiling a little confused. She wondered why he had sounded angry.

She shrugged and noticed everyone in the gym was staring at her, including the cheerleaders. Mel caught sight of Kim and Ron grinning and giving her a thumbs up.

The only one who didn't seem pleased in one way or another - beside Barkin, of course - was Bonnie. The brunette had folded her arms in front of her chest and was staring at her in something akin to irritation.

Mel, wo didn't even consider the possibility of her being the cause of that irritation, waved happily at the cheerleader, hoping to get a smile out of the girl.

Bonnie, perplexed by the other girl's cheerful greeting, frowned and turned up her nose at her behaviour, looking purposely in the other direction.

Seeing the brunette look away, Mel shrugged, thinking that the girl may have thought the wave was directed at someone else, and quickly lined up behind the boys in the team. She noticed in amusement that she was taller than most of them.

After being split up into two teams, each of them took their position on the court, while the cheerleaders were practicing on the sidelines.

Barkin blow his whistle and the game began. Someone passed Mel the ball and she started dribbling towards the basket. Soon she found a guy from the other team standing in her way. Carrying out a feint, she quickly ran past him and passed the ball to someone from her own team. Soon after that, her team scored the first points.

In the meantime, Kim and Bonnie were still arguing about who got to be on top of the pyramid.

"Bonnie, I am the head cheerleader, therefore I am on top of the pyramid!" Kim insisted, her voice shaking with suppressed anger.

"You may be the head cheerleader, but I'd look a _lot _better up there." Bonnie sneered in return.

"So not! Besides, you don't even posess the athletic capability to get up there without endangering yourself and everyone around you!"

The other girl was just about to retort something, when a cough interrupted her.

Looking to their right, they saw the other cheerleaders struggling to stay in the strenuous position they were in, namely the pyramid.

"Could you two please just decide on something?" the blonde, Tara, practically begged.

The brunette and the red-head glanced at each other from the corners of their eyes, before they took off running, both wanting to be the first to arrive and therefore be on top of the pyramid.

Jumping off the ground, they landed on the pyramid at the same time. Not being able to lift the extra weight, the other girls struggled for a moment before the whole pyramid started collapsing.

Bonnie, who had been barely able to hold onto Kim's hair to keep herself from falling anyway, lost her footing entirely and fell backwards, shrieking loudly.

Mel had just received the ball from one of her teammates, when she heard the scream. Turning around, the first thing she saw was Bonnie rapidly heading towards the ground.

Her eyes widened and she could feel an almost irrational wave of panic surging through her.

Mel's hands were now practically burning and she rushed to the point the brunette would land on as fast as she could, having thrown the basketball carelessly into the general direction of the basket beforehand.

She knew it was impossible for a normal person to cover a distance of about ten metres in the time it took someone to fall to the ground. However, she wasn't a normal person by any stretch of the imagination.

Bonnie shut her eyes tightly, awaiting the impact. Her brain knew that she should try to land on her feet to lower the risk of breaking a bone, but her legs didn't seem to cooperate.

She was more than a little shocked when she landed on something surprisingly soft and...warm.

Mel grunted when she caught the brunette in her arms, the impact squeezing the breath out of her and making her stumble. Losing her balance, she fell to the ground, unceremoniously landing on her behind.

She grinned sheepishly at the girl in her lap, who was slowly opening her eyes. She noticed that her hands had stopped burning and also didn't seem to itch anymore. In fact, she felt rather content at the moment.

Bonnie's eyes widened at the realization of just whose lap she was lying in. Mel was smiling warmly at her and the brunette wanted to scramble away from her. However, just like before, her body didn't seem to agree with her brain and continued to lie there, practically draped over the other girl and even daring to feel comfortable. She wasn't used to feeling the warmth of another person. She had never expected hugs or the like from her sisters and her father was far to busy to even notice that he had a third daughter.

And her mother....in public, she was loving and always concerned for her children, but at home....that was a different matter altogether. She'd rather spend her time throwing her husband's money out of the window than taking care of her daughters.

Brick did attempt to hug her a few times, but it was more of an excuse to grope on his part than anything else.

Bonnie was pulled out of her musings, by a soft "You okay?" from Mel. Looking up, she noticed that the girl's concerned eyes were directed at the hand clutching her shirt rather tightly.

The sight freed the brunette from her temporary immobility and she quickly struggled to her feet, immediatly folding her arms in front of her chest in a rather defensive manner.

Doing the same, Mel grinned brightly at the brunette. Her hands had started itching again the moment the other girl had stood up.

"So, you're not hurt or anything, right?"

Bonnie just wrinkled her nose and feigned indifference.

"Whatever." she grumbled and walked affectedly calm towards the locker room, for once not caring if practice was over or not.

Mel stared after her, wondering if their encounters were always going to end like this.

The gym was filled with silence after Bonnie's departure, everyone waiting for someone else to say something.

All of sudden, Barkin spoke up.

"I think it's safe to say that you're now officially a member of the Middleton High basketball team."

he said in Mel's direction.

Everyone turned to stare at him, waiting for an explanation. He pointed to the place on the court Mel had been standing a few minutes before.

"You've been standing here and threw the ball."

Now he pointed at the basket on the other side of the gym. The distance seemed to be about 20 metres.

"And you scored."

All eyes were now gazing at the basketball lying directly under the basket. After a few minutes, someone began to clap and congrulate her and soon everyone followed.

Someone patted her on the back and she smiled slightly.

They resumed their practice like nothing had happened, but Mel couldn't stop thinking about Bonnie. Looking at her hands, she noted that the itching had intensified again and wondered what exactly this meant.

To be continued...

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A/N: I just hope the last bit of this chapter isn't as confusing as I think it is...cause I just finished this damn chapter and now I'm damn tired....-.-

Anyway, this story has been going for 4 chapter now and I only get two reviews? Come on, guys! I need some encouragement here! ;)

And now...I'm going to bed...G'night....*zzzzzz*


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